…to the chagrin of true arbiters of taste

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“Michigan Lawyers Weekly is proud to announce the 26 members of our second class of ‘Unsung Legal Heroes.’ This program honors law firm employees who have consistently gone above and beyond the call of duty, often behind the scenes. This award is reserved for the state’s most talented and dedicated legal support professionals. Judging by the response we received since we launched this program last year, lawyers are embracing this opportunity to show appreciation for key staffers. This class represents several aspects of legal support, including a law librarian, paralegals, legal secretaries, firm administrators, information technology, and legal marketing. The honorees will be profiled in a special supplement in the July 30 issue of MiLW.”

Well, that supplement was released today. I am honored to have been included, and my Q&A follows …

Yes, this “week of Roy” continues (I wonder how many people have muted me at this point …) An interview for the Legal Marketing Association – LMA International’s StrategiesMagazine (May/June 2018) about transitioning in and out of the legal industry … and back again.

Thank you to Amber Bollman for the opportunity to contribute, and I love sharing the discussion with fellow LMA board member and friend Taryn Dreyer Elliott. “‘Life After Legal,’ a panel discussion featuring four former legal marketing professionals who ultimately moved into other industries.”

As my father sweetly emailed, “Very impressive! Glad you inherited Susie’s intellect! You be brilliant. Love you.” Thanks, indeed, to my mom Susie Sexton for her guidance, compassion, intelligence, fire, and wit. I am ever grateful for all that both my parents have taught me.

My mom Susie Duncan Sexton‘s essay “WAIT! PRIOR TO TOSSING ME INTO A WEATHERED HATBOX…READ ME FIRST” will be published in the latest Henry Ford Centennial Library “Big Read” anthology “What’s in a Name?” Event is this Saturday to celebrate its publication.

Hope you can attend the Wrap-Up on Saturday, April 28, 2 p.m. at Henry Ford Centennial Library, 16301 Michigan Ave., Dearborn. Free and open to the public.

This year’s Legal Marketing Association – LMA International Conference in New Orleans saw some of best legal marketing professionals come together to network, discover new technologies, learn leading business development strategies, and stay informed of what’s happening in the industry. As a result, the 2018 LMA Annual Conference had several key takeaways for legal marketers and business development professionals alike.

I’ve been posting my movie musings at www.reelroyreviews.com for five years now … much to the chagrin of true arbiters of taste. And at one point a publisher (Open Books) decided to turn my online shenanigans into a couple of books. I tend to go see whatever film has been most obnoxiously hyped, marketed, and oversold in any given week. Art films? Bah! Won’t find too many of those discussed by yours truly. And every once in awhile, I may review a TV show, theatrical production, record album, concert, or book (yeah, probably not too many of those either). So ask me anything … I act, sing, write, laugh, cry, collect, and obsess in my downtime … and I market lawyers to pay the bills.

Thanks to Dani Tippman from the Whitley County Historical Society for this coverage of the Blue Bell Lofts Grand Opening! Dani was unable to attend the ribbon-cutting, but watched and enjoyed my mom Susie Duncan Sexton’s speech on video. Dani wanted to include this story in the Whitley County Historial Bulletin. That is really a special treat, as my mom wrote a piece in 1987 on the history of the facility that also appeared in The Bulletin and was used extensively in Commonwealth’s research for this transformative project – you can read that piece here.

My mom did want to note that in the excitement of the day there were a couple of items she misstated and would like to correct: “The corrections would be 50 layers of denim which I had mis-stated….and that the plant was called Blue Bell in 1943 after several name changes. When in another building behind the bowling alley, it was called Globe-Superior…becoming Blue Bell-Globe when Globe-Superior was bought out. From 1936, it was called Blue Bell-Globe until just the Blue Bell name in ’43. At one point down south after Big Ben and Blue Bell merged the company was called Blue Bell Overall Company from 1930 until 1936, when it became Blue Bell-Globe and, finally – as I wrote – in 1943, BLUE BELL, INC. Thus, Blue Bell affiliation provided the final lasting name change to simply Blue Bell one year after my dad Roy Duncan arrived. First big acquisition after the name change was CASEY JONES!” Enjoy!

BONUS: From 1987, The Post and Mail’s coverage of Susie’s original Blue Bell article in The Bulletin

Do you find reading this name to yourself is a little amusing? Bet your lips puckered without your realizing it. Try saying it aloud; bet you can’t without having a little fun with it. At A2CT’s hilarious production of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre this weekend, you can think it, say it, sing it, even stand up and shout it at the top of your lungs and you will be in good company. It is encouraged and it is satisfying, much like the performance that surrounds it. It’s no wonder this interactive Rupert Holmes musical won several Tony Awards. It’s that fun.

As the real story goes, The Mystery of Edwin Drood is the final novel written by Charles Dickens, who died before completing it, leaving the explanation of the title character’s mysterious disappearance unresolved. However, in the musical, we, the audience, get to…

The musical concerns a troupe of players at an English Music Hall putting on a musical production of Charles Dickens’ last novel which, alas, he died before completing. It is up to the audience to vote and decide who the murderer, detective, and the evenings lovers will be. Every performance features a different ending based on the audience vote, and is an evening of smartly written, very funny entertainment for all ages. Drood won 5 Tony Winning and 9 Drama Desk awards in 1986, and recently had a revival on Broadway which garnered raves. The musical was originally produced by the Joseph Papp New York Shakespeare Festival in New York’s Central Park. Parents should be aware that there is a light smattering of late 1800’s colorful British language.

All performers in the 19-member cast play dual roles — those of performers at the Music Hall, and the characters they become “on stage” for the staging of the novel. Jared Hoffert is the evening’s Chairperson. Drood (a male impersonator) is played by Vanessa Banister. Evil Jasper is played by Roy Sexton. Love interest Rosa Bud is played by Kimberly Elliott. Brother/sister Neville and Helena are played by Brandon Cave and Becca Nowak. Brodie Brockie plays the Reverend Crisparkle, Michael Cicirelli is Bazzard, and Alisa Mutchler Bauer plays the mysterious Princess Puffer while Durdles is played by Jimmy Dee Arnold. The cast is rounded out by Peter Dannug, Sarah Sweeter, Heather Wing, Julia Fertel, Ashleigh Glass, Chris Joseph, Kari Nilsen and Kelly Wade. There is a mysterious guest appearance by Ch. Brady Cesaro.

Directed by award-winning Ron Baumanis (Bonnie & Clyde, The Wedding Singer, next to normal), musical directed by Daniel Bachelis (who also conducts the full orchestra), and choreographed by Debra Calabrese (Croswell Opera House’s Memphis, In The Heights). Designed by Ron Baumanis, Lighting Design by Thom Johnson, Sound Design by Bob Skon, Costume Design by Molly Borneman, properties designed by Aaron Wade. Produced by Wendy Sielaff.﻿

I couldn’t be prouder of my mom Susie Duncan Sexton. This article is from The Ball State University Honors College alumni magazine. The author Olivia Power captured my mom’s spirit and soul. This is a beauty, and Olivia wove all of the threads of my mom’s life – her writing, her books, her advocacy, her progressive views, her irreverence, her wit – so lovingly and so thoughtfully. I am just tickled to pieces with this. A life richly lived and appropriately, effusively celebrated. This is marvelous!